


Will Work 4 Bed

by mthrfkrgdhrwego (universalchampbalor)



Series: Make me Dizzy Ms. Clizzy [1]
Category: Shadowhunters (TV)
Genre: F/F, Homeless Clary, Homelessness, Internalized Transphobia, POV Isabelle Lightwood, POV Third Person, Pining, Pre-Slash, Prompt Fic, Trans Clary Fray, Trans Female Character, Trans Isabelle Lightwood, Transphobia, i love my trans Sun and Moon Lesbains
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-19
Updated: 2017-06-19
Packaged: 2018-11-15 23:02:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,219
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11241105
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/universalchampbalor/pseuds/mthrfkrgdhrwego
Summary: As she drove forty minutes to surprise Clary with a cake and some cookies, she quickly realized that yeah, she would do pretty much anything to keep that smile on Clary’s face.





	Will Work 4 Bed

**Author's Note:**

> P-Izzy works at a furniture store and has to kick Clary out all the time for sleeping on the beds. When she finds out that Clary is a homeless trans girl, she takes her in.

The store was silent, lit by harsh fluorescent lights. A large grandfather clock ticked loudly somewhere far off, the sound echoing menacingly. It felt disconnected from reality, almost as if it was on a whole different plane of existence.

“I hate opening up.” Jace mumbled, his bicolored eyes flicking around nervously. Rows of goosebumps were raised along his arms. The hair on the back of his neck was standing on end.

Izzy snorted. “No one else is here. You’re fine. I can’t believe you find this place creepy.” She teased, hiding her laugh behind her hand.

“Whatever. I’ll go punch us in and make sure everything’s in order. Make sure no one’s here.” He grumbled. His footsteps thumped over to the back office, still audible as he faded from view.

Everything was fine until Izzy got to the bedding.

She noticed an unmade bed and a flash of orange against white sheets out of the corner of her eye. She slowly walked over to the bed, ignoring the way her heart pounded against the inside of her ribcage. She stopped in her tracks at the foot of the bed.

A girl was curled up in the bed, snoring softly. Her bright orange hair was splayed against the pillow, looking like a mane around her head. A small puddle of drool was collecting by her strong jaw.

Izzy almost didn’t want to wake her.

She carefully jostled the girl’s shoulder, startling her awake. She jolted upright, eyes wide, and swung. Izzy caught her first easily.

“Easy there, tiger.” Izzy chuckled. She let go of the girl’s hand, which she retracted to her chest.

“Sorry! You scared me.” The girl said, her voice a high rumble in her chest. She quickly stood, almost tripping over the sheets. She was wearing a tattered mauve shirt and ripped jeans. She tugged on the pair of muddy, hole riddled combat boots sitting next to the bed.

“It’s alright. Why were you sleeping here? How’d you get in?” She asked, raising an eyebrow. She was certain that Alec and Lydia had locked everything up at closing.

The girl refused to meet Izzy’s eyes. “I picked the lock on the back door.” She mumbled with a shrug. “It’s getting cold outside and I don’t have anywhere to go.”

Izzy sighed, dragging a hand through her hair. “I’m sorry, but you can’t sleep here.” She said apologetically. The girl looked like a kicked puppy, which wasn’t helping Izzy’s hyper-empathy.

The girl smiled. “It’s okay. You’re just doing your job.” She said. She sounded overly chipper for someone in her position.

Izzy watched her leave in an almost disappointed daze.  
^^  
It became a part of Izzy’s routine.

She always opened the store, whether it be with Alec, Jace, or Lydia. She’d walk through the store, making sure everything was in order for opening. And, without fail, she’d find the girl sleeping in the show beds.

She learned small things about her. Her name was Clary. She was 19. She was an artist, doing mostly graffiti since it was at her disposal. She’d been on the streets for about six months.

Izzy didn’t learn anything groundbreaking until almost a year later.

“Here, I’ll drive you to the shelter.” Izzy offered one day. Clary was worryingly thin, her cheeks gaunt and her skin sickly pale.

Her eyes widened in panic.

“No! No. I can’t go to the shelter.” She said, her voice almost pleading. Her thin hands were shaking, tears welling in her hazel eyes.

“Clary, why can’t you go to the shelter?” Izzy asked. She was starting to feel seriously worried for Clary’s safety.

A tear rolled down Clary’s cheek.

“Because,” she sniffed, “there aren’t any shelters in town that help trans people.” Her voice, which was usually an energetic chirp, was now a meek rumble.

Izzy’s eyes softened. She was suddenly hit with years’ worth of memories of voice training, stuffing bras, shots of E, and surgery after surgery.

“I live with my older brothers. We have an extra room. You can come stay with us if you want.” She said softly, sitting next to Clary.

The smaller girl flung her arms around Izzy’s neck. Izzy merely held her, allowing her to cry into her shoulder. She smoothed a hand over Clary’s back, her heart breaking as she felt her over-present vertebrae.

After a moment, Clary looked up, her eyes red, trails of tears painting her ruddy cheeks. “Thank you.” She said, her voice wavering.

Izzy gave her a dumbfounded smile.  
^^  
After her shift, Izzy drove Clary to her place. Clary was practically vibrating, eyes wide as she saw the high rise.

“You didn’t mention that you lived in a loft like this.” Clary said, awe seeping into her breathy voice. She trailed behind Izzy like a lost puppy, looking out of place in her ratty clothes.

Izzy chuckled as she unlocked the door to her apartment. “It’s our parents’ old place. They left it to Jace, Alec, and me when they moved to California.” She explained. She stepped inside before noticing Clary hadn’t followed. “What are you waiting for? Come on!” She chirped, grabbing Clary’s hand to pull her inside.

“Who’s this?” Jace asked through a mouthful of muffin. Izzy chuckled as Clary hid behind her back.

“This is Clary. She’s gonna be staying in the guest room.” She said, rooting through the fridge. She grabbed a bowl of fresh cut fruit and handed it to the younger girl.

“What will Alec think?” Jace asked. Clary sat across from him, folding in on herself to make her minuscule frame as small as possible.

“I don’t care. He’s not the only one who lives here.” Izzy said with a shrug. She grabbed two water bottles as she walked to the table. She placed one in front of Clary, who smiled meekly.

“Do you have anything you need to grab?” Izzy asked, though she felt like she knew the answer. Clary shook her head, looking down at the table. Izzy smiled. “Okay. I’ll take you shopping over the weekend. Until then you can borrow my clothes.” She offered. Clary beamed.

“Help yourself. We have way too much food for the three of us. You look like you could use it.” Jace joked as he stood. He ruffled Izzy’s hair was he walked by, tossing his muffin wrapper in the trash. He disappeared down the hall, the sound of his bedroom door shutting reverberating through the house.

Clary turned to Izzy, her green eyes shining with wonder and the hint of tears. “Why are you being so nice to me? I’m just a homeless trans kid that has nothing to offer.” She said quietly, her eyes falling to the floor.

Izzy’s heart broke a little.

She sat next to Clary and carefully put a hand on her knee. She tugged up her shirt, revealing the thick, darks scars over the v of her hips and the curve of her breast. Small, thin scars stretched from her waistband, reaching towards her bellybutton.

“Because,” she began, swallowing her fear as Clary’s eyes raked over his scars, “I know what you’re going through. I’ve gone through four surgeries, years of E shots, voice training, stuffing bras, and learning how to pass. I would be on the streets if it wasn’t for Alec and Jace.” She said, dropping her shirt back down.

Clary’s eyes welled with tears, her breathing growing shallow. “Thank you.” She whispered, unable to muster anything more. She leaned forwards, burrowing herself against Izzy’s core. Izzy wrapped her arms around the smaller girl, raking her fingers through her tangled hair.

“No problem.” She chuckled. “Tomorrow I’ll show you some tips and tricks and over the weekend we’ll go shopping. For now, go get some sleep. I’ll show you your room.” She said, grabbing Clary’s hand.

Clary nodded sharply, allowing Izzy to drag her down the hall. “This si your room. Mine is next door, Alec’s in at the end of the hall, and Jace’s is across the way. Come tell us if you need anything.” She said softly, rubbing a hand across the sharp planes of her back. She nodded numbly.

“Do you want some pajamas? To take a shower?” Izzy asked, giving the girl a kind smile. Clary nodded slightly, staring at her hole riddled boots against the hard wood floor.

“Bathroom is right here- this one is mine, and the other one belongs to Jace and Alec. I’ll grab you some pajamas and towels.” Izzy said, squeezing Clary’s arm before she darted off. She grabbed her some fluffy towels, a lush robe, and the pair of satin pajamas that Magnus had gotten her.

Afterward, seeing Clary cleaned up, cocooned in her clothes, sleeping peacefully, filled Izzy’s heart with joy.  
^^

They fell into a simple rhythm.

Clary fit into their family pretty smoothly. She helped around the house, cleaning and organizing whenever she got stressed-which was often. She cooked and joked around with Jace and bantered with Alec and blushed at Izzy’s ‘subtle’ flirting.

She started working at the store, helping to organize the show floor and make sure everything looked perfect by the time the customers showed up. It was nice, having the extra help and the extra help.

She had been staying with them for three months the first time it happened.

It was common knowledge that Clary had nightmares and night terrors. Sometimes she’d wander out of her room in the morning, hair ruffled and eyes sunken in. Every once and a while they Lightwoods would hear small cries and fearful moans from Clary’s room. It broke Izzy’s heart.

Three months into her living with them, Izzy woke up to a cold body curled up against her.

It was well past midnight. The sky was dark, and the house was pitch black. Clary’s entire body was freezing, and Izzy almost couldn’t tell if her shivering was from her temperature or her fear. Her skin was clammy, sweat soaking through her t shirt. Her hair was plastered to her forehead, the orange stark against her pallid skin.

“What’s wrong?” Izzy asked. She lifted her sheets, allowing Clary to crawl in with her. The smaller girl formed herself to her side, an arm tossed over her stomach, a leg tangled with hers. Her head was pillowed against Izzy’s chest, the steady beating of her heart a grounding force.

“Nightmare. Couldn’t sleep.” Clary mumbled. They were quiet for a moment before she continued, her voice broken and teary. “I used to crawl into bed with my mom whenever I’d get scared. I can’t do that anymore, and I thought that you might be a good comfort.” She mumbled, her breath warm against Izzy’s bare skin. She felt slightly self-conscious about sleeping in a bralette and her panties, but she couldn’t be faulted.

“Do you wanna talk about your nightmare? That’s what helped my little brother.” Izzy offered. She carefully wrapped an arm around Clary, her fingers tracing absent shapes against her wan skin.

Clary’s breath trembled as she inhaled. “My mom died around two years ago. It was a botched robbery- someone broke in and she was there and she ended up in a coma. She died a few weeks later. I lived with my step dad for a bit, but he couldn’t support me even with the two jobs he was working. I didn’t have anywhere to go, so I ended up on the streets.” She paused, and Izzy felt the warm slick of tears hitting her chest.

“I was there when we were robbed. I was hiding in the closet, just…frozen with fear. I can still remember the face of the man that hurt her.” She took in a shuddering breath. Izzy pulled her closer, effectively wrapping herself around the smaller girl. “I, uh, I have nightmares about him hunting me down. It seemed personal. He knew my name, kept talking to my mom about me. It’s just… visions of him with that _smile_ and that _knife_ and the gentle drawl of his voice as he called me _Clarissa_. He shouldn’t have known my name.” She shuddered.

She gently cried into Izzy’s chest, ignoring the way her arm fell asleep within minutes. Izzy held her, shushing her, making sure she was grounded and safe.

In her mind, Izzy vowed to protect Clary from this mystery man.  
^^  
After that night, Izzy grew more protective of Clary.

Around June, she would retreat, burying herself in her sketchbooks. The paint she forced onto her canvases felt violent, angry in a terrified way. It was _fascinating_ , seeing how she let out her emotions through paint pressed into the rough linen.

When Clary’s birthday rolled around in August, she seemed excited. She spent a good four hours searching for a specific bakery on the outskirts of East Meadow. She rambled about how her mom and step dad always got her a cookies and cream cake, how her best friend always got her three peanut butter cookies with rainbow sprinkles on half of them.

Izzy would just sit next to her and help her search, asking questions about her happy memories. As she drove forty minutes to surprise Clary with a cake and some cookies, she quickly realized that yeah, she would do pretty much anything to keep that smile on Clary’s face.

**Author's Note:**

> I'm bimonlewis on Tumblr! Come bug me!


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